Beautiful Nightmare
by Thessian Shadow
Summary: Slight variation from Homecoming. Takes place after nightmare version of Shepherd's House. Same pairing as usual, Alex/Margaret. Reflections on Alex/Elle friendship. R&R. Rated M for language and themes.


**Beautiful Nightmare  
**_Chapter 1: Always Losing You_**  
**_  
_**A/N:** Here is another one. Got real bored with Christmas break. Here's what I came up with. Slight variation from SH: Homecoming, Alex/Margaret. Takes place right after Shepherd House, Otherworld.

His eyes focused, seeing the inside of his once warped home, Alex turned the knob, releasing him from it. Upon stepping but on the porch, he saw Elle. She ran toward him, informing him that her mother was now among the missing. He had already found this out, when trying to find answers after what happened to Doc. Fitch. Her office was an orderly wreck, with only the guests' chairs out of place. The book that lay open on her desk had caught his attention. Not meaning to be nosy, he was searching for any clue as to where she and the others may have gone, when he saw one line. It caused him to want to read more.

"_It's all going to hell now… The choice we all made is coming back to haunt us. We are all damned for our decisions and one in particular. There is only one solution…_

He flipped the page back, and began to read further. Her narrow script very familiar.

_What have we done? This Is all coming down to one thing. We all knew that what we all feared was inevitable. When Joseph was born, Sam's wife was unable to have any more children. The same with Martin's wife. She died in childbirth. That means there's nobody left…. What's the point in even bothering with the ritual now?_

They had gotten a boat, and headed directly across the lake. When they were ambushed, he had to cut the power to the prison, which wasn't so much of a problem, except for the stupid order thugs that were toting around pipes and rifles. When he approached the prison, he felt the darkness sink in like he was plunging into icy water. The walls and floor reeked of urine and sweat. The prison was now nothing but a dump where the order could do away with those they didn't want to creep around. While following Wheeler's instructions, Alex came across a locked cell. Seeing someone inside, he knelt to their level. Seeing a battered woman on the floor, he quietly attempted to pull and tug at the bars. They finally budged, falling out of the track that held them. The plates that held them in place were so rusted and unkempt that they were practically splintering. Upon further examination, Alex saw silver-blonde hair. He pulled the remains of the cell door and wall off of her. A dull moan was heard.

"Hey…" Alex placed a hand on her trembling shoulder. Her head jerked, revealing blood from where the walls caving in had marred her face. It took a lot not to flinch back.

"A-Alex…"

"Shh… Yeah. I'm here." He shifted the rest of the debris, so that she could move, and slowly got her into a sitting position. "How long have you been here? What happened?"

She shook her head. That alone meant bad things. He hadn't seen or heard from Elle, and that was her next question.

"W-where's Elle?"

"Don't know. She was taken by Order thugs when we were approaching the docks. How long have you been here?"

Again, no answer. He looked around the cell block, seeing nothing but torn apart cells and no electricity. They were in what looked like B block, but he hadn't gotten to Wheeler yet. He was in the next area. Looking back down, Alex saw that she was slightly slumped over.

"Hey, can't go out on me now. Stay with me…"

The sound of people approaching met him, and before Alex knew it, a steel pipe connected with the back of his head, causing him to fall forward, landing beside her.

"Leave him, but take her. She'll get what's coming. They all will." The voice sounded funny, like it was coming from a man with a thick mask, and Alex guessed that the men who had whacked him were order soldiers. He gripped her arm, attempting to keep her there, but they pried them apart, leaving him to grip the air where she used to be. They dragged her off, through a set of double doors, and Alex thought he heard Wheeler telling them to let her go. He then forced himself back up, moving out of the cell, and through the double doors. Two other order thugs were waiting. With the knife in hand, he carved them up, like he had thought about doing to the others previously. When they were sputtering and gasping for breath, he flipped the switch on the wall, letting Wheeler out.

"Damn, you look like you just had a run in with those creeps."

"I did… They took her, Wheeler."

"I know. I just saw them. They said something about taking a woman to Solitary."

"We've got to catch them. I don't want anything to-"

"Solitary is in A block. Meaning, we have to backtrack. Come on."

They headed back, eventually ending up in the room where Ale had seen Josh on the camera. Wheeler attempted to patch into the panel, and it worked. He turned back.

"We need to split up. I can control all the gates in the prison from this panel. Head the way I tell you, and you'll be In A block in no time. Go."

"Got it. Thanks, Wheeler. Let me know if you see Elle or anyone else."

"Will do. Focus on getting to Solitary. They were taking a woman down there, so…"

"Yeah."

He headed to an indicated door, and after Wheeler opened it, headed down some stairs. Waiting for Wheeler to open the gate, he thought back to when he had first come to appreciate the family that had become more of one than his own.

_Alex had gotten into it with Josh late one night, after he had gotten away with leaving his father's hunting room door open. Josh and Alex both knew that that particular room was off limits. Josh had managed to get in there and take a picture of his Robbie The Rabbit toy on the desk, and he had bolted from the room, leaving the door wide open. He showed the picture to Alex, grinning broadly._

"_See? I actually got in there! Isn't it cool? I can't believe I got in and took a picture to prove it!"_

"_You know you're not supposed to get in there! What'll happen if Dad finds that?"_

"_Nothing much, right?" Josh's grin hadn't faded one bit, however, it dropped through the floor, when Adam's voice thundered from below._

"_ALEX, COME HERE!"_

_Alex shot his brother a look, then headed downstairs. He was sure the hunting room had something to do with his father's anger, but it didn't take much for his father to get pissed at him. _

_Finally getting downstairs, Alex looked for his father and found him in the kitchen with Lillian._

"_You called?"_

"_Yes. What have I told you about getting curious around my hunting room? I've TOLD you to NEVER go in there!"_

"_It wasn't me! I just got home from studying with Elle Holloway! How could I have gone in there? Mom, you saw me come in just now."_

"_Adam, he's right. I just saw him walk through that door." Lillian had looked up from cooking, just in time to see Adam grip Alex' shirt sleeve. _

"_Come on."_

_They headed back up the stairs and into the boys' room. Adam looked at Josh with nothing akin to the fury he had with Alex._

"_Josh, do you know anything about my hunting room being open?"_

"_No. I've been in the park with Joey Bartlett today." Josh easily lied through his teeth. Alex frowned, and Adam gave Josh a questioning look. This turned into a look of mild anger when it was turned on Alex._

"_Alex."_

_He pondered letting Josh get away with it, but thought about the Bow incident. He had been told that he needed to watch Josh more carefully._

"_Josh did this. He took a picture of his Robbie the Rabbit toy. He showed it to me just before you called me downstairs!"_

"_Where is it?"_

_Alex saw Josh slip something out the window that was directly behind him. He pointed to the window, and Adam frowned._

"_If you're making this up, you'll-"_

"_I swear, I'm not making it up. He just slipped it out the window!"_

"_The window isn't even open!" Josh stepped away from it. Adam looked at the ledge, and turned on Alex._

"_You'd really blame your brother-"_

"_HE DID IT!" Alex got angry when he saw Josh feign innocence. This made him turn and storm from the room. Adam followed, but they heard the door leading outside slam. Alex had left._

_He headed out for a walk in the park, and made it there. The bench near the old tree was vacant, and Alex took it after about ten laps around the small park. He first just sat there, trying to cool down from his near explosion with Josh. This didn't help, because he heard Josh laughing a short distance away._

"_Fuck, I can't get away from him… I can't go anywhere without-"_

"_Talking to yourself isn't exactly healthy."_

_Alex looked up, seeing Elle come through the gate. She sat down beside him, motioning for Nora to have a good time._

"_What did the brat do now?"_

"_He went into Dad's hunting room. He doesn't even let Mom go down there except to clean the basement and stuff. I mean she goes into the basement, but-"_

"_I get it. Man, what's he got to hide anyway? A body?"_

"_I know…" He put his head in his hands for the second time in five minutes. "I don't get it! What the hell am I doing wrong?"_

"_Wrong?"_

"_Yeah. I keep doing this shit, I keep trying to be the son he wants, and what does it bring me?"_

"_Aside from one hell of a headache?"_

"_It just gets me into more trouble than it's worth."_

"_What are you going to do?"_

"_Your couch vacant?"_

"_Yeah, why?"_

"_I'm not going back with him in the right state he's in. I know Mom believes me, but that's not enough."_

"_Good point. Yeah, it is. Just got to see if my dad's coming around."_

"_Really? Your mom threatened him how many weeks ago?"_

"_I don't know, maybe like five. I'll let you know, or we can find out when Nora gets done playing."_

"_Sounds good." They left the conversation at that, and simply enjoyed each others' company._

_Nora got done playing and sketching the trees within an hour and a half. They left the park, Nora in the lead, and headed to the other side of town. Alex made it a point to say where he was going loud enough to where Josh would hear him. Elle shot him a questioning look, and he hastened to explain._

"_He's been leaning out our window watching. I just saw him as I stood up from the bench."_

"_Nice."_

His memory was interrupted, as he tried the door to A Block. He grimaced.

"Wheeler, the door won't open. I need help."

"I see you. That's the entrance to A Block. Ok, go back."

Alex headed back down the hallway, and down the stairs. Wheeler was able to open the gate, and that left Alex to open the door to solitary.

"The panel to Solitary is broken. I'm going to find a way to fix it."

"Good. There's probably a wire loose from the fusebox above you."

"That's where I'm headed."

Fixing the fuse box was not easy work. The wire wasn't loose, but gone. Three of them were missing. While he hunted the spare wires down, his mind wandered again.

_Getting closer to the Holloways', Alex heard distant arguing. He nudged Elle. "Looks like your dad dropped in for a visit."_

"_Yeah. I really wish he'd just leave town again… I mean why does he have to come around, if only to cause trouble?"_

"_Some people just like to make sure they can start it, I guess. I think that's why Josh does what he does."_

"_Don't know… Oh man, this is bad." They stopped for a few minutes, hearing the shouting getting louder. "Not again…"_

"_GET OUT!"_

"_I have a right to see my daughters, right? Hell, you corrupt them with your husband-hating bullshit!"_

"_Get over yourself! You have no reason to see them, because they'd rather be shipped off to boarding school, than see you! Elle's tired of choosing sides, and Nora is asking me which one of us is right!"_

"_Get over MYSELF? You need to get a LIFE! You stay at work constantly! How can you call yourself a mother!-"_

_Elle and Alex chose this time to make their presence known. Nora was looking from the two parents with confusion._

"_Elle, which one is right?"_

"_Don't pay attention to them, Nora. Dad's always been this way. As far as we are concerned, Mom is right."_

"_Kay."_

_They approached the house, her father not knowing, and Elle cleared her throat. This caused him to turn around._

"_Elle, Nora, what are you two doing roaming the streets-" He saw Alex with them and frowned. "Oh, right. You've got him with you." Alex rolled his eyes, and Elle placed her hand on her hip, resembling her mother greatly._

"_Damnit Dad, why do you do this? You expect us to practically do whatever you say when you show up. What kind of father are you if you aren't around all the time? Let's face it, you two hate each other. I figured that out a long time ago! Just stay away from here!_

"_You actually side with her on this matter? What have you put in their heads!"_

_He made a start toward Margaret, and Alex gripped his collar from the back._

"_Get your filthy paws off me, Shepherd!" He attempted to shove him off, but it didn't work._

"_Piss off, man." Alex yanked the collar back, so that the man stumbled backwards. Elle and Nora moved closer to their mother, and her husband rolled his eyes._

Finding the last wire in a guard station, Alex headed back out and into the room with the fuse box. Re-wiring it was a little difficult, but he finally got the wires in the right places. The switches for some of the cells became active, as well as the keypad leading to solitary confinement. Searching the cells, he found a serum and a note with the prisoner number 110391 on it. For some reason, the number was bolder than the rest of the note. Heading into the room with the keypad, Alex stopped.

"God, I must be crazy or just damn hopeful."

He tried the prisoner's number for access to solitary, and by a stroke of luck, it worked. The door unlocked, and he let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

"Alright, Wheeler. I made it in. I'm going to look around."

"Let me know what you find down there."

He headed down the stairs and rounded the corner, but what he found wasn't anywhere near what he expected. Lillian was bound to a stretching rack. She wasn't looking at him, but it was like she hadn't heard him.

"Mom… Jesus, what did they do?"

There was no answer. Hearing what sounded like water dripping, he looked down. Blood was draining from her body. Alex grimaced, feeling a sudden wave of nausea. He darted to a corner, vomiting violently. Lurching, he saw the gears of the rack had once been rusted so that they wouldn't move. Now, the layer of rust was drenching the floor, or was it?

Looking around, he saw the makings of the otherworld. Rust, blood, and barbed wire were surrounding him. What was worse, the blood was still draining from his mother's body, and it was now dripping on him, due to his position.

"FUCK!" Alex' voice echoed around the room, sounding like a tortured cry even to his own ears. "I should have gotten here sooner!" Feeling sick again, he felt his body convulse. The vomit caught in his throat, to where he couldn't breathe. Holding the pistol in his hand, Alex felt like turning it on himself. The distant sounds of a woman's screams reached his ears. He had heard them before, but had never found the source. Throughout the prison, he had heard the screams. He turned quickly, leaving the corpse of his mother, and went back out the door, leading to A Block.

When he got there, something came up from the center of the room, and there was a place where Alex could reach into it. On the walls surrounding the room, there were odd riddles. He took a look at each one, then noticing that there were dials on the thing in the center. One riddle didn't make sense, so Alex placed the empty space at the top of the dial. The next was somewhat obvious when Alex saw the choices. "Death…" He placed the coffin at the top of that dial. The last was fairly simple, when really thinking about it. His options were chess pieces. The only one that fit the riddle was the knight. Seeing that all the riddles were solved, he placed his hand in the hole, turning something in the centre of the device. It began to rise from the floor, revealing a large hole.

"Nowhere to go but down…"

He slipped down the hole, landing on the floor below. He recognized it as the shower room. Wheeler came up behind him, nearly making him jump out of his skin.

"There you are! I thought I was gonna go looney tunes in this roach motel… What is it?"

"I found my mother… I was too late to save her…" There was no strength to his voice. All that was heard was a choked whisper. Since the riddles above, the vomit had settled again, and Alex finally turned to look at Wheeler. "Anything on your end?"

"I found this… Elle's name is on it, so's her mother's. This don't mean good things."

"Then we've got to find them before the Order does…"

Moving through the prison, they followed odd corridors and ran into a few needlers along the way, but finding the door with the valve on it was nothing new to Alex. He had seen It when dealing with the demented form of Scarlet. By now, he could only assume that the children, aside from Josh, were dead. He had only seen his brother, not Joey, Scarlet, or Nora. It hurt to think that Nora was dead, because she had become something of a little sister to him, especially since he had spent so much time away from home around the Holloway girls. He still had Elle's locket that she had found in her mother's room. Holding it in his hand, he turned the valve, opening the door.

Upon doing so, the smell of gas met him, and then the sound of labored breathing. Looking up, he saw where it was coming from. "Judge Holloway…"

"Get her loose. I'll turn off the gas!"

"Right. Go!"

Wheeler headed to the control booth, seeing that they had the gas release switch jammed. Alex rushed to the center of the room, freeing her from the chair. Gripping her close, so that the gas wouldn't have an easy time getting to her, he moved toward the valved door, but saw that it had closed back. Wheeler motioned for them to get to where he was, in the control booth. The door wouldn't open any wider, so Alex held the dagger in his hand, and slammed it against the glass. It shattered instantly, splintering. Some shards embedded themselves into his skin, causing him to hiss in pain. Climbing over the low wall, he got into the booth, just as Wheeler shut off the gas valve. No sooner had he done this, a horrible shrieking sound took over from the hissing of the gas being released. Two twisted arms grabbed Wheeler, attempting to pull him out the partially open door. Wheeler pushed off from the door, slamming it against the two arms.

"Shit, what the hell's wrong with this place? Can't there be anything NORMAL around here!"

"Apparently not." Alex knelt, placing her on the rusted floor, and looked back at Wheeler. "While I try to stop that thing, take some good shots at it. I'll need it to be distracted."

"Deal."

Alex flung himself over the low wall, and made himself known to the beast. It was a compilation of bodies, arms, and hands. Two hands were over its mouth, looking like they were stopping the airflow. This earned it the nickname "Asphyxia". It lurched at him, using its lower extremities to swing around and knock him down to the ground. Wheeler started shooting at it with the rifle that Alex had found in Dargento Cemetery. Once a few good shots were landed, the beast turned its back on Alex, causing him to spring onto its back. He attempted to crush its neck, but that seemed to make it stronger, so the only thing to do was the opposite. He took the hands blocking the thing's mouth and pulled them back, causing the monster to buck and finally throw him off. However, the deed was done. Asphyxia lay motionless on the ground.

After he got up, Alex moved back over the wall, but found no one there. Both Wheeler and Judge Holloway were gone. The only thing indicating that they had been there was blood where she had been, and the rifle where Wheeler had stood.

"No…"


End file.
